Saturday, Rutgers football picked up its 21st verbal commitment for the 2021 recruiting class and as of Wednesday morning, the Scarlet Knights hold the No. 13 class in the nation.

While it is inevitable that the final ranking won’t be as high as it is now once the traditional powers fill up on supreme talent, there’s no denying the fact that head coach Greg Schiano and his crew have been killing it on the recruiting trail -- from home

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Recently, running backs coach Augie Hoffmann talked about the challenges of recruiting right now during COVID-19 when no camps are taking place or traveling to see prospects.

Well, I think the biggest part is to be on top of the recruiting,” Hoffmann said. “You have no choice but to study the film, watch every kid that's in your area, any kid that you feel that maybe can help out the program and really have to dig into their film not just their highlights. You got to get to the game film too because everybody looks great on a highlight tape. I think it's really important to see what kids are doing when the camera is not on them to get an idea of what type of guy they are and what type of guy can they be for our program.”

The pandemic that has hit the globe isn’t ending for good any time soon, however states and campuses are starting to open back up. Once that happens, and even during the fall season, recruits could visit other programs and choose to play elsewhere for college.

Secondary coach Fran Brown said getting the number of commitments that Rutgers currently has is vital especially for the culture.

“I think it’s always important when you can get student-athletes that you are recruiting that fit your culture. When you get guys that truly fit what you want, when you go out and recruit those guys to be a part of your culture it’s truly important,” Brown said. “Anytime you can identify a player, their character and they are willing to verbally commit to be there ahead of time, it’s really important.”

Brown, who hails from Camden and played his college football at Western Carolina, has been a coach at Temple and Baylor since 2011. He’s risen quickly through the ranks and has been an ace recruiter over the years, including now at Rutgers.

But when he was at his two previous institutions, he recruited against Rutgers. Since Schiano was re-hired, however, Brown wanted to be in Piscataway and work alongside him and recruit Scarlet Knights.

“I was against Rutgers. So I wanted a player to play for me,” Brown said. “It was the fact of seeing Greg Schiano come back. I got a chance to play at Western Carolina and I was graduating when Schiano was turning Rutgers around. It wasn't seen and pushed down on the step turn to the ground. Once he got the job, I was just itching for that call and it all worked itself out. But I wanted to beat them in every way possible. Now, I want to win a national title.”

Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisWasky.